Steel Wise

CHE RON BRACING IN LOW-RISE BUILDINGS

Roberta Marstellar, Keith Mueller, Jason Ericksen and Christopher Hewitt

Estimating member sizes for chevron bracing in low-rise steel-framed construction is easier than ever with this handy design aid.

Schematic of typical chevron brace configurations. The details circled are highlighted in later figures in this article.

hevron braces are a common configuration for providing lateral-load resistance in steel-framed buildings. This handy chart will help you quickly estimate the brace size and connection material required for a given force in chevron bracing designed to resist lateral forces due to gravity, wind and low-seismic loads.1 These rules of thumb dont cover all situations, but they will provide a reasonable starting point for the preliminary brace and connection design or cost estimating. Estimated brace sizes, gusset plate thicknesses, and required number of bolts or size and length of the welds are tabulated for a practical range of unfac-

tored brace forces (tensile and compressive). The bolts and welds indicated are for the connection of the brace to the gusset plate. A 3 center-to-center bolt spacing and a 11/2 edge distance were assumed in the connection design. Suggested details for the various connections involved in chevron bracing are also included for each of the bracing types: HSS, W-shapes, WTshapes and double angles. The connection(s) of the gusset plate to the beam and/or column are not addressed in the table. Also, drift control issues must be considered separately. The minimum length of the welds for the connection of the HSS to the gusset is 1.3 times the diameter of the round HSS or 1.3 times the side of the

square HSS. Rectangular HSS are not included. This minimum length allows the welds to be designed with a shear lag coefficient U = 1 in the HSS.2 A smaller weld length may be acceptable, provided the effects of shear lag are considered. Thanks to Victor Shneur, P.E., of Lejeune Steel Company in Minneapolis, MN, for laying the groundwork for this feature. Roberta (Bobbi) Marstellar is Director, Steel Solutions Center, Keith Mueller is Senior Engineer, Steel Solutions Center, and Jason Ericksen is Solutions Center Advisor. Christopher Hewitt is Staff Engineer Structures in AISCs Engineering and Research department. Email the Steel Solutions Center at solutions@aisc.org, or visit them at the AISC web site, www.aisc.org.

`Modern Steel Construction April 2002

Chevron Bracing in Low-Rise Buildings

Unfactored Loads (Kips) Gusset Plate ASTM A36
Double Angles ASTM A36 3/4" Bolts / row ASTM A325 30 PL 3/8" 2L5x5x5/16 (21 lb/ft) 3 3 1 HSS 5.000x0.375 (18.5 lb/ft) HSS5x5x1/4 (16 lb/ft) 3/16 7 50 PL 3/8" 2L6x6x3/8 (30 lb/ft) 4 4 1 HSS 6.000x0.312 (19.0 lb/ft) HSS6x6x1/4 (19 lb/ft) 3/16 8 75 PL 1/2" 2L6x6x3/8 (30 lb/ft) 6 4 1 HSS 6.000x0.500 (29.4 lb/ft) HSS6x6x1/4 (19 lb/ft) 1/4 8 100 PL 1/2" 2L6x6x1/2 (39 lb/ft) 6 6 1 HSS 6.875x0.500 (34.1 lb/ft) HSS7x7x1/4 (22 lb/ft) 1/4 9 (Round) 10 (Square) W8x35 (2) PL 3/8" 4 - Gusset 4 - Web 4 L4x4x5/16 4 - Gusset 8 - Flange WT7x45 150 PL 3/4" 2L8x8x1/2 (53 lb/ft) 6 5 2 HSS 8.625x0.500 (43.4 lb/ft) HSS8x8x5/16 (32 lb/ft) 5/16 12 (Round) 11 (Square) W8x48 (2) PL 3/8" 4 - Gusset 4 - Web 4 L4x4x5/16 6 - Gusset 12 - Flange WT8x38.5 200 PL 3/4" 2L8x8x1/2 (53 lb/ft) 8 6 2 HSS 9.625x0.500 (48.8 lb/ft) HSS8x8x3/8 (38 lb/ft) 5/16 13 (Round) 11 (Square) W10x49 (2) PL 3/8" 4 - Gusset 4 - Web 4 L4x4x5/16 8 - Gusset 16 - Flange WT13.5x73

Double Angles

Bolts Weld

7/8" Bolts / row ASTM A325 No. of Rows

Round HSS ASTM A500, Gr. B Square HSS ASTM A500, Gr. B "a" (in) [See Details] "b" (in) ** [See Details] W-Shape ASTM A992 Web Plates ASTM A36
3/4" or 7/8" ASTM A325 Bolts

HSS

W6x20 (2) PL 3/8" 4 - Gusset 4 - Web 4 L4x4x5/16 4 - Gusset 8 - Flange WT6x13

W8x28 (2) PL 3/8" 4 - Gusset 4 - Web 4 L4x4x5/16 4 - Gusset 8 - Flange WT6x25

W8x31 (2) PL 3/8" 4 - Gusset 4 - Web 4 L4x4x5/16 4 - Gusset 8 - Flange WT6x43.5

W-Shape

Web Flange

Angles ASTM A36

3/4" or 7/8" ASTM A325 Bolts

(Flange Connection)

WT-Shape

WT-Shape ASTM A992 3/4" Bolts ASTM A325 7/8" Bolts ASTM A325

Bolts

4 4

4 4

4 4

6 6

6 6

8 8

** Weld lengths are based on 1.3H , where H is the outside diameter of a round HSS or leg dimension of a square HSS.

REFERENCES 1. Low-seismic loads are those for applications in which the seismic response modification factor R is taken equal to or less than 3. Structural elements and connections in such applications are designed to meet the requirements in the AISC Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Specification with no special seismic detailing. 2. Kulak, Geoffrey L., and J. J. Roger Cheng, 2000, Gusset Plate Connection to Round HSS Tension Members. Engineering Journal Vol. 37 No. 4 (Fourth Quarter): 133-139. Turn page for typical details April 2002 Modern Steel Construction

Steel Wise

SUGGESTED DETAILS FOR CHEVRON BRACING

`Modern Steel Construction April 2002

SUGGESTED DETAILS FOR CHEVRON BRACING

April 2002 Modern Steel Construction